Sleepless Club
by El Reino
Summary: Itachi and Hinata are finally given a chance. Oneshot and drabble collection exploring their relationship. Newest: Oneshot. The Uchiha Clan have adopted a little sparrow that was cast out of her nest. But Itachi is starting to suspect that Hinata is not as defenseless as she is pretending to be.
1. Sleepless Club

All Naruto properties belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Viz Media. I'm just futzing with the world and characters for a bit.

I dunno guys, I really think Itachi and Hinata would be suited to be friends. This is a drabble and oneshot collection so any suggestions are appreciated. No beta, so please excuse any typos but still feel free to point them out.

oOo

**Title: Sleepless Club**

Summary: _Long _oneshot. Hinata goes on a deep cover mission to help take down one of Konoha's most dangerous enemies. The identity of the secret agent she is sent to support was unexpected. How is she supposed to work with a mass murderer? Modern/Futuristic AU.

Rating: T

**oOo**

It took a lot to disgust an alleged mass murderer. Itachi found he was nauseous.

"It's magnificent, isn't it?" Tobi breathed next to the young Uchiha's ear.

Itachi desperately bit into the inside of his cheek. The blood mixed with the bile rising up his esophagus, choking him and rendering him completely unable to speak.

The lip biting was his only form of protest against… _this_. Outwardly, he was impassive, standing regulation straight with his arms crossed behind his back. His dark eyes stared down at the jar on the metal gurney in front of him. He was cold in this concrete room and it was not the air conditioning making him feel that way.

Tobi let out a sudden laugh that echoed through the cavernous laboratory. "At a loss for words? Or are you being reticent as usual?"

Itachi tilted his jaw up in an attempt to clear his throat. "Like always, you find a way to make the impossible, possible."

There was a smirk in Tobi's voice. Even with that ridiculous mask, his emotions were far from mysterious to Itachi. The glee the older Uchiha currently experienced practically permeated the air.

"I did have to sacrifice many," he gestured to the far wall. "But now… the Sharingan is no longer dependant on those _traitorous Uchiha_. It does not matter that the clan no longer exists, because our kekkei genkai will never die."

Itachi stared at the jar because he could not bear to look up.

"We're almost there, Itachi-kun." Tobi quietly declared after a moment. "Our time is coming. I hope you're prepared to fight for your new world." He dropped a heavy hand on his companion's shoulder, before leaving the room.

Something wet bubbled up and spilled over the crest of Itachi's eyelid. He reached up, expecting blood, assuming he had activated his Mangekyo Sharingan by accident. Thumbing away the liquid, he pulled his hand back to inspect it. The liquid was clear.

The shinobi accidentally raised his gaze and met the multitudes of eyes glaring back at him from their glass cases embedded in the wall. Every single one held the judgment of the family member that had been sacrificed. With their loyalty, they earned the right to be slaughtered and have their eyes placed in this grotesque memorial.

He could not stomach watching the eyeballs floating in their preserving fluid for very long. He returned to the first horror.

The Sharingan once belonged to only the Uchiha, earned through centuries of mutations and selective breeding. Yet, two eyes not of Uchiha origin were capable of glaring at Itachi as fiercely as the legitimate ones.

Itachi silently gagged past bitter memories of wading through his family members' remains before he pivoted sharply on his heel. His back bowed beneath the continued stares but he took a deep breath in, straightened, and carefully made his way out of the laboratory.

The artificial eyes with their red pupils and three tomoe mocked him as he sedately _fled_.

oOo

"It's _hot_." The chunin cursed and pulled at his flak jacket.

"Oh thank you for letting me know." His female partner drawled, never taking the binoculars from her eyes. She methodically scanned the air. "I would have never realized if you hadn't said anything."

The man in question scowled and pulled at his heavy body armor. "I'm gonna take this off," he threatened.

"You're the one going to get busted by the Captain," she shrugged.

Their bickering was old, worn and comfortable, like their regulation issued undershirts. The two chunin fought even as they kept alert.

"Hey," the female slapped the back of her hand against her comrade's chest. He wheezed. "Incoming, but it doesn't look like one of ours."

"Hand them over," he demanded and she easily passed over the binoculars. He leaned forward as he squinted into the distance.

"Red tassels," he murmured. "…Shit, it's a message from the damiyo!"

His partner was already moving into action, opening the transfer tube with a key that would bypass the Cipher Corps and go straight to the Hokage herself.

While the chunin were trained to watch carefully for anything incoming, they did not have the same rules for things that left. So when the messenger hawk took off into the distance after delivering its package, no one was looking when the hawk turned into a crow and the crow disappeared in the wind like smoke.

oOo

On occasion Tsunade allowed herself a moment of astonishment at the inheritance Sarutobi left her. His patchwork shinobi force, while full of consummate professionals, also held a volatile mix of personalities. These men and women studied hundreds of different ways to call down Death upon their enemies while desperately avoiding their own end.

Of course, Tsunade intimately understood how it felt being in the general population, having her strings pulled and watching her most precious people succumb to their final failure. As a Hokage, it was now vital for her to see the big picture.

She relaxed her face from the glare she had been sending to the report. She deliberately loosened her muscles and leaned back into her chair. Shizune peered down worriedly from her spot behind her Hokage's large desk.

The Hokage sighed and turned so she could peer out of her windows. At times like this, she appreciated her grand view. The Academy Tower was the first and tallest skyscraper in Konohagakure. Tucked into a corner of the city, shielded by the mountain, it provided a panoramic vista of the life bustling down below.

_This_ was why she did this. For the people rushing through the foot traffic to catch their bus. For the businessmen and their housewives and their two children. For the shinobi who fought and died in the shadows.

She was in charge of keeping them secure. Her sharp gaze slipped to the side as she contemplated the report. It was sealed so that only she could open it.

"Shizune, do you still have your key for the safe?"

Shizune's eyes widened. Taking a scroll from a pocket, she summoned a large metal ring, with many keys of many different shapes and sizes hanging from it. Tsunade did the same with her own little scroll. They both searched their individual rings to find a rusty-hardly used key.

In a hidden location in Hokage's office, a squat safe stood. Tsunade and Shizune inserted their identical keys in the safe at the same time, completed a certain set of hand seals and released burst of chakra before the safe finally released its contents.

It was an unprecedented process. The only other time Tsunade had done this was when she had first become Hokage.

Tsunade herself unraveled the encoded message with the special cipher from the lockbox. Typically only communications from the daimyo or the other Kage sent messages in this manner.

But there was an exception.

Agents in deep, _deep_ cover sent these messages as well. Those men and women were in such a web of lies that having even the Cipher Corps know of their existence was dangerous. Tsunade decoded the missive swiftly. Every single character could cost the agent their life… if the very sending of it had not done so already.

Once the letter had been decoded and read, Tsunade went very still. Shizune saw the moment her Hokage's breath hitched, and the assistant watched the line of the older woman's neck as the Hokage swallowed heavily.

Shizune was torn on asking. Did she really want to know what had unsettled her leader so strongly?

After a moment of collecting herself, Tsunade spun her chair back to face her assistant. The Hokage was all business now. Her eyes could pierce steel.

"Who do we have that's good at reconnaissance and intelligence gathering?" She asked.

Shizune blinked. All of the ninja under their employ were _good _at those things. They were a basic skill set. She frowned as she realized the hidden implication.

Tsunade wanted someone who was _excellent _at it.

Shizune quickly flipped through her mental files for names of the nin who were on active duty and not on a mission.

"Uh… Mimura Hamaki, Yuhi Kurenai, Namiashi Raido and Yamashiro Aoba are known for their abilities for infiltration. There's also the clans. The Aburame, the Hyuga… The Inuzuka maybe." She listed dutifully.

Tsunade agitatedly picked up the report and glared as if she could set it on fire through pure willpower. "Namaishi Raido is too obvious." She muttered. "He looks like a ninja. This would have to be long term, deep cover."

Shizune blinked. Deep cover was never good.

"I can ask Kurenai but her daughter makes that difficult. Her clan can watch over her… Hmm. Inuzuka is out."

Shizune literally had to bite her tongue. Reading the report, _asking_ about the report would be against protocol. But she needed to _know._

"I would even consider Kakashi when he returns, but it can't be anyone in a Bingo Book."

"You could use a chunin up for promotion," the assistant offered helpfully.

Tsunade dropped the paper in her hand and sat back. She crossed her arms and stared thoughtfully at the opposite wall.

"I like the idea of using a clan member. Especially either an Aburame or a Hyuga." The Hokage conceded.

"But if you are using them for a long term mission, you would need to secure the clan head's permission, especially if they're an heir. Or close to one, like Neji-kun."

Tsunade swore. "I hadn't thought of that."

The Kage sighed before gathering up the papers and walking over to a black metal contraption that came up to her waist. She slowly fed each paper into the incinerator one by one. The fact that she did not ask Shizune to do so for her was telling.

Apparently, Shizune could not keep the curiosity off her face as they returned the cipher and the lockbox to their proper place.

"Trust me." Tsunade sighed. "You don't want to know."

oOo

Predictably, Hiashi stormed Tsunade's office just hours after the Missions Office sent Hinata her new mission packet. Tsunade hunched over her paperwork like a defensive pit bull. As she looked up, she resisted the urge to growl.

Shizune was trying to train her out of that habit.

The Hokage straightened and tried not to be too disgruntled at this breach of her territory. Shizune was out on an emergency medical mission and her temporary replacement had not yet learned how to deny anything of people who could easily incapacitate him. She also did not meet with the clan leader before enlisting his daughter in something that was going to take so much of her time. His anger was a tiny bit justified.

But not too much so.

"Oh hello, Hiashi-sama." Tsunade said dryly, motioning to the seat in front of her own. "Please, make yourself comfortable."

Hiashi remained standing. He was too agitated to seduce her with silky compliments and perfumed insults.

"We have been informed of my daughter's new mission. I believe that my nephew or my second daughter would be a better fit for it."

Their eyes clashed. Tsunade's were fire and brimstone, while Hiashi's were blizzards and ice senbon. If he dared to order her around in her own office, she would shoot him.

The ceremonial rifle that belonged to the Second was within reaching distance. It still worked with one round in the chamber. She checked.

The Hokage refused to stand up. Instead she lounged almost lazily on her plastic and leather throne. He would not ruffle her feathers. There was no way that he knew what this mission entailed. Hinata would have informed him of her extended absence and that it was a B-rank. Her mission packet was more of a summons than anything since Tsunade wanted to personally talk to Hinata about the _real_ rank and details of her assignment.

"Hinata will not go on that mission." He declared.

If Tsunade's temper was a rock, then it had been suspended in mid-air, connected to her common sense by a spider web. And Hiashi just brutally cut that spider web with a kunai. Something about that man drove her insane. They could be the best politicians around anyone else, but when they were together, they fought like a stray cat and a mangy dog.

She lunged forward and slapped her hands down on her surprisingly sturdy desk. The force was light enough to keep the desk from breaking but strong enough that Hiashi could feel the vibrations of the impact through his sandals. The assistant outside whimpered.

"I have gone through each file and I picked Hinata-"

"Hanabi is far more capable and her taijutsu is more advanced-"

Tsunade could feel a headache spreading from around the seal on her forehead. She would shoot _herself_ if she did not get some sake in the next half hour. How dare this idiot order her around and then talk over her?

"This is not something that requires combat!" She snarled. "It requires delicacy and finesse-"

"All of which my nephew has in spades!"

Tsunade reached down to the floor next to her and pulled out a folder from a precariously leaning stack. She forced it down on her desk as if it was Hiashi himself. She knew she should have more tact. But she was far too tired, frustrated and sober for decent politicking.

First, she got a message from an undercover agent she did not even _know_ was undercover. Then she learned from the esteemed Council that this agent was indeed who said he was, which led to them having to explain something they were trying to keep her in the dark about. _That_ meant that every horrifying thing in that report was true.

This threatened not only her city but the whole nation they were tasked with protecting.

Clan politics were not even important.

She pierced the cover of the folder with a manicured nail. "Look, Hiashi-sama." Her decibel level had toned down, but her anger deepened her voice. "This is how I make my judgments. I read a file and listen to what it tells me. Hinata-san's Byakugan can see for ten kilometers, which is over _nine_ kilometers farther than your nephew can."

Hiashi refused to flinch but she saw it in his eyes anyway. His expression reminded her of someone who had just bitten into a wormy apple.

She continued.

"Hinata-san is intelligent, good at elaborate problem solving and _patient_. Your youngest has already two citations for being brash and charging into situations that endangered both her and her teammates. Hinata-san's psychological evaluations all indicate that she is able to be undercover for long periods of time in enemy territory while Hanabi-san's evaluations all indicate that she is too unyielding-_too_ _Hyuga_-to blend in with a civilian population."

Tsunade sneered and sat back. "I don't just throw the names of my operatives in the air and pick whichever one lands in my hand, Hiashi-sama. I understand you have two geniuses in your household, but you also have one very talented _shinobi_." She took a breath and schooled her face into an expression where she was not bearing teeth. "I want Hinata."

If her last sentence sounded like an order, that's because it was.

Hiashi practically vibrated with rage. He exuded no killing intent because he still knew what lines were concrete, but his chakra sparked. His eyes burned like ice on her bare skin but the Hokage shrugged it off. She won.

His bow was perfect. "I will send her to the Mission Office to be briefed as soon as possible, Hokage-sama."

"You do that."

She tracked him like a predator as he stiffly turned and marched to the door. "Oh. Hiashi-sama."

He turned his head in her direction. She pretended like she did not notice he was snubbing her by not facing her fully.

"I have no place to enter in your clan politics. But you have no place in keeping my operatives from me to please your council. She probably_ will_ make jonin before her sister. Your council is going to have to find another way to prove Hinata-san is incapable of becoming Head."

Hiashi turned back to face the door. He closed it so softly behind him that Tsunade could hardly hear the latch engage at all.

oOo

Hinata sat on the bus, staring out of the window in quiet contemplation. She had only been to Takigakure a couple of times and never in a manner so conspicuous. Her fingers fiddled with her artificially aged passport and brand-new visa. Soon the shuttle would stop in a small city in the northernmost part of the province where she would live for the time being.

The woman took a deep breath as she peeled back the cover to her passport. A woman with honey brown hair and deep brown eyes stared back at her. Not big changes, but enough to make her look like a completely different person.

_And so it begins. _

oOo

It was early enough in the morning for the sun to still be hiding behind the mountains, but late enough that most people were on the public train that transported them to work. While Tobi's laboratory had barracks, most of the workers preferred to live in town, Itachi included. So he traveled to work much like the common civilian.

Which, he mused, could be more trouble than it was worth.

The woman on the bench across the aisle seemed tired of just sending him coy glances. She gathered her things as if in preparation for a move closer. If not for the old woman sitting in the bench in front of him, Itachi suspected the younger one would have moved earlier.

He ignored the woman's flirtatious glances and stuck his hand between the seat and the train wall. Shuffling through the abandoned newspapers, he picked something that would occupy his attention. Ah. But nothing to write with. He fumbled through his suit jacket pockets for a moment before the old woman before him chuckled and held out a bright pink pen. A spring was glued to the end that held a little figurine of a smiling rodent, its arms spread wide.

The missing-nin accepted it with as much grace as he could and nodded in thanks at her gap-toothed smile. He filled out the crossword absently, not stopping even when the flirty woman huffed past him to disembark. The cartoon rodent bounced up and down with every pen stroke. Only when his own stop was announced, did he carefully fold up the crossword, tuck it back in the newspaper, and return the whole thing to its original place.

He attempted to return the ghastly pen, but the old woman only clutched her enormous bag closer to her chest and shook her head.

"Keep it." She cackled.

Itachi inclined his head in thanks and tucked it into his inner breast pocket. He walked to the door and stared out the glass as the train slowly came to a stop. He slipped through the small crowd waiting to embark and never made eye contact with the woman who took his place on his old seat.

She wore a large purple ribbon tied up in her hair and a uniform shirt with the name of a restaurant embroidered on the chest. Her face was flushed from rushing to catch the train on time.

For a few minutes, the woman did nothing more than fiddle with her ribbon and stare out the window. The old woman in front of her snored.

Growing bored, the woman's gaze drifted down to the abandoned newspapers and magazines. She picked up a magazine first and tore out an ad for a new lip gloss. The newspaper was next. She peered over the headlines and giggled at the editorials. The crossword beckoned but as soon as she pulled out her pen to finish it, her stop was announced.

Frowning in indecision, she decided to tear it out to finish it later.

oOo

The town sat next to a large river that was fed by Takigakure's famous waterfalls. The place was a port city, shipping commerce up and down the river. Warehouses on the dock were not uncommon. The guards that protected a certain laboratory hidden in such a warehouse often took their lunches or dinner in the heart of town. They were a rowdy group, but observant of all the things that mattered.

They definitely noticed the shy new waitress. She was pretty enough and kept the beer coming, sweetly smiling at their attention and carefully sidestepping their fiercer innuendos.

It was a good day for them. It was the end of the week, their shift was over and one of them was even slipped a carefully folded slip of paper by the blushing waitress.

Stunned, he stumbled out of the restaurant as his companions merrily celebrated his luck and gave him a couple of congratulatory slaps on the back.

The guard waited only until the next morning to call.

oOo

Itachi stifled a yawn as he rode his train home. He looked to the side of his seat, but only a gossip magazine was waiting for him. Figuring it was better than nothing, he carefully pulled it out from its hiding place and rifled through the stories of indecent celebrity behaviors and advertisements for overpriced perfumes.

With a bemused quirk of his brow, he stopped at an article in which the title had been circled repeatedly in bright purple ink.

_'How To Get Your Man,' _it read.

His lips pursed as he tried not to convey his amusement with the dubious advice on the page. Apparently, the previous owner of the magazine had seen this as a legitimate source of help. A couple of things were underlined and one bullet point was also circled.

'_Sometimes, men like it when you make the first move, Ladies. Confidence is extremely sexy.'_

The shinobi let out a huff of air through his nose in an estimation of a laugh and closed the magazine. He was done with that. Replacing it, he crossed his arms, slumped low in his seat and closed his eyes.

oOo

KONOHA CIPHER CORPS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS (KCCCS)

MESSAGE RECEIVED:

FROM OPERATIVE ID: 012612

DISCIPHERED MESSAGE IS AS FOLLOWS:

IN POSITION. HAVE MADE CONTACT WITH [UNDERCOVER OPERATIVE; CODE NAME: CROW]. WILL PROCEED TO SECOND STAGE OF PLAN.

END MESSAGE.

oOo

Weeks later, as the waitress with the purple ribbon stepped onto the train, a man in a business suit rudely knocked into her. She stumbled and looked angrily at the man, but he disappeared in the crowd before she could demand an apology.

Muttering rude things under her breath, she fought her way onto the train. It was busy today so she had to grip the overhead hand railings. She dug into her bag for a handkerchief to avoid touching the dirty railing and instead found something strange. Schooling her face into something benign, she continued her search and pretended there was not a newcomer in her bag in between her wallet and tissues.

The royal purple ribbon with the white polka-dots definitely was not hers.

oOo

Her boyfriend came for lunch. She begged for a couple minutes of break time and dragged him off to a secluded corner between the kitchens and the bathrooms. He peered down at her indulgently. She was nervous and blushing.

"I-Um, remember how I told you that my parents have a-a cabin down the river? W-well, I got the keys and thought that if you were free this weekend… We could go?"

She peered up at him from behind thick lashes, her brown eyes imploring.

The guard raised a brow. Oh, he knew exactly what a weekend alone meant. He chuckled at the walking contradiction that was his girlfriend. She acted so shy but had no problems taking their relationship further. He reached out a gentle hand to stroke over a blushing cheek.

"Only if you're sure…" He prompted.

She nodded and the smile that blossomed on her face made his heart skip a beat. "I'm sure."

"Then I would love to spend the weekend with you, Sweetie." His watch beeped a warning. "Oh shit, I have to get back to work. Talk to you tonight?"

She nodded and gave him a kiss on the cheek. With a roguish grin, he leaned down and captured her lips in a much more satisfying goodbye. They both stumbled apart, flushed. The guard almost went for another, but she shook her head.

"You're going to be late." She admonished, but leaned in with a coy grin. "Later," she promised.

"Later," he agreed and dashed off.

oOo

KONOHA CIPHER CORPS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS (KCCCS)

MESSAGE RECEIVED:

FROM OPERATIVE ID: 012612

DISCIPHERED MESSAGE IS AS FOLLOWS:

HAVE RECEIVED GO AHEAD FROM [UNDERCOVER OPERATIVE; CODE NAME: CROW]. SECOND STAGE WILL COME TO CLOSE. WILL BE IN POSITION IN THREE DAYS [FROM TIME OF SENT MESSAGE].

END MESSAGE.

oOo

"Something the matter, Babe?"

The waitress tore her gaze away from the surrounding forest. "Huh?"

Her boyfriend closed the lid of the trunk of their borrowed car. With a grunt, he hefted up their overnight bags. "You kind of spaced out there."

"Ah," she shook her head. "It was nothing. Just kind of dark, you know?"

He nodded and looked around the area. The shadows were long and heavy in the dusk. "Yeah, it took us a long time to get here. Can you grab my backpack from the backseat? I'm going to put this inside first."

She nodded and hurried to get his things. Hoisting the backpack over her shoulders, she stared a little longer at the inky blackness of the encroaching night. She could hear her boyfriend unlocking the front door. A bird tittered.

Nodding, she resumed her forward motion and quietly caught up to him just as he stumbled through the threshold. The cabin was dark and the shadows swallowed him up.

He laughed and set down the bags with a clatter. "We made it and now-"

With quiet grace, the diminutive woman launched herself at the much larger man. Her legs tightly wrapped around his waist and her bicep squeezed against the underside of his jaw. He attempted to turn, an exclamation of shock barely making it past his lips as she hooked onto his back. A sharp jab to the back of his neck and he crumpled to the ground.

She rode him down, jumping off and catching his head before he hit it on a nearby kotatsu. She slipped the backpack off and carefully placed it in a corner.

Another bird chirp and suddenly ANBU nin were surrounding her, the door closing behind them.

Hinata stepped back and with a few hand seals, she had transformed into the downed man.

One ANBU with a tiger mask dragged the guard to a corner. He efficiently tied the man, gagging him before placing a cloth bag over his head. Another ANBU- a bear but also obviously a Yamanaka-prepared the process for extracting the necessary pass codes and other pertinent information from their captive.

Another ANBU stayed with Hinata, carefully inspecting her henge. She nonchalantly hunched her shoulders and transferred her weight differently as if she was the heavily built man.

"Anything to report?" The hound asked.

She shook her head. "Everything seems to be according to plan so far." Her voice was a spot on imitation of her "boyfriend."

The agent hummed in acknowledgement. "You can release the jutsu." He ordered and looked down to his digital watch. He pressed a couple of buttons. "Save your chakra, take a nap. We'll wake you when it's time to transfer the information."

"Unless you managed to _persuade _anything else from him?" Tiger drawled in amusement.

"Watch it." Hound kept his voice even but there was enough steel to enforce it.

Hinata transformed back into her true self. She had not realized how tiring it was to keep up a henge for so long. Spending _weeks_ as another person was draining.

She stayed professional, even in the face of the nin's innuendo. She understood his… color. Kiba was worse in a way, because he was past the point of censoring his jokes around her.

"I understand all his interpersonal relationships." She reported. "But he was very tight-lipped about any details relating to his job. Either he was very well trained or he couldn't."

"She's right, Taichou." Bear reported. "He's got a pretty nasty mental block set in place."

"Can you get through it in time?"

Bear shrugged. "Never know until we try."

"Get on it." The hound ANBU turned to Hinata. "Do you have a contingency plan?"

"He has a passcard that he carries around with him, probably on him now." Tiger set to rifling through the prisoner's pockets. "I can at least use that to get inside, which is enough for the next phase."

"Understood. Get some sleep, we'll deal with this."

Hinata nodded before heading to the bedroom in the back. After closing the door, she took off her shoes and slowly laid herself over the bed covers. Folding her hands over her stomach, she swallowed a deep breath. Held it.

They were almost there.

Her lungs burned. The dimness of sleep swallowed her as she slowly let out the trapped air from her lungs.

oOo

Even through the walls she could hear Hound's watch alarm go off. Her eyes opened easily as if her slumber had been pretend. One of the ANBU knocked on her door and she opened it a beat later.

Tiger gestured for her to precede him through the hallway. She did and met the other two ABNU members in the front room. Hound was sprawled lazily on a nearby couch. Bear sat cross legged in front of the prisoner.

"Good news." Hound drawled. "We got the information. Bad news."

Hinata tried not to be discouraged. "Bad news?"

"It's a lot." Bear said quietly.

She attempted not to slump. Deep cover missions were not just for information gathering; the assassins had to do so as well. And if an ANBU thought she was going to have a hard time memorizing, then well, who was she to argue with the best of the assassins?

She tried anyway. It was only when she stuttered over the third pass code, did she admit her defeat. She was _good_ at memorization. When her Gentle Fist forms were wrong and her chakra was too depleted to channel to her eyes, her brain never failed her. The only thing she felt truly good at was remembering information.

"That's enough." The Hound announced. Hinata sagged from her spot on the floor next to Bear. "We're just going to have to do the next best thing. Time's up."

Bear sighed and turned to her. Tiger stepped over and lightly but firmly took hold of her head.

"Sorry about this," Bear apologized, before making a hand seal.

In a rush, memories that were not hers rushed into her head and burned themselves into the walls of her mind. She was used to pain, but she could not stifle a scream. Her head tried to snap back but Tiger's grip kept her steady and upright.

Memorization would have been less painful.

It took a while for her muscles to finally stop trembling and the other nin discreetly looked away while she wiped the bile from the corner of her lips. They waited until she stopped moving before quizzing her again.

The first pass code caught in her brain but she was able to repeat it dutifully with only a twinge of pain as a punishment. There was more pain for the second. A full blown headache for the third.

But she remembered. Hound declared her ready.

On schedule, Tiger transformed himself into the quiet waitress. Hinata, even wearing the skin of a man, was dumbfounded to see such a familiar face on another person.

"What is it?" Tiger asked.

Hinata huffed out a husky imposter's laugh. "It's nothing important."

The other two ANBU dissipated like smoke into the surrounding trees as the guard and his girlfriend piled into their borrowed car. Hinata peered at the darkened cabin where a man was confined before she eased the car into gear and backed out of the driveway.

oOo

Itachi heard the taunts as he made his way down the concrete corridor. Fluorescent lights hummed above his head, becoming the metronome to his measured steps. He mimicked the sound in the back of his throat so quietly that he only felt the vibrations from it but did not hear any sound.

He turned the corner to see a tall guard throw a half hearted punch at another. The guard looked flustered and sheepish as a small cluster of his friends gathered around him.

"You jackasses are just jealous that you don't have anyone!" He mumbled angrily.

Someone imitated the sound of a cracking whip, causing the group to dissolve into laughter.

Itachi calmly slunk past. When the group caught sight of him, they fell silent and hurriedly dispersed to their positions. The guard everyone was mocking froze, already at his post. He straightened to attention and locked his eyes on the opposite wall above Itachi's head.

With an onceover, Itachi found the incongruence. Everything from the guard's stance to crisp black working uniform was perfect. If it was not for the fact the uniform had short sleeves, the guard's wrist would have never been exposed.

Itachi slid his gaze away from the purple and polka dot ribbon tied around the guard's arm and the two men met gazes. Boredom met nervousness.

"Meet me in my office after your shift." Itachi ordered blandly, never breaking his stride.

The guard hissed a curse.

oOo

Hours later found Itachi leading the guard down another, darker hallway. Hardly anyone used this corridor because it led straight to a restricted access door that led to the basement. And that door was off-limits to everyone except Tobi.

The wheels to the mop wringer squealed angrily as the guard used the handle of the mop to push it after Itachi. Unable to hear the lights anymore, he counted out his steps himself.

At an even number, he stopped, about six meters away from the dead end door. He knew what lay behind the portal, down the stairs, past another door locked with a weight plate, an eye scanner and a special electronic chakra sensor: the laboratory and the only remnants of his clan.

He stopped and waited for the trailing guard to catch up.

"Start over there," Itachi indicated the door, "and end when you reach the stairs at the opposite end of the corridor."

The guard inclined his head and avoided Itachi's gaze. That stupid ribbon was still tightly wrapped around his wrist.

"You may proceed." Itachi indicated.

The guard nodded and hurriedly shifted all his weight towards the end of the hall. He had his back towards Itachi and awkwardly fumbled with the wooden mop handle before he started cleaning the floor right in front of the door.

Itachi crossed his arms and watched. It would not do for him to simply let the guard be unsupervised around such a restricted area. So Itachi was stuck until the guard finished.

The nin watched and watched the guard move the mop from one wall to the other in methodical strokes. When the guard pulled even with Itachi, he understood.

The man's head was submissively bowed but Itachi could still see the engorged veins on the man's temple.

A Hyuga.

He idly wondered what this Hyuga thought of him; the clan-killer. That clan, with all those safety measures in place to make sure no one ever revolted to such a degree.

"What do you see?" Itachi quietly asked.

The cameras in the hallway would see the both of them even if they were not equipped to pick up sound. But the two ninja were careful to keep at angles where eyes and lips could not be seen.

"I… I don't see anything." The Hyuga murmured.

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "Your eyes cannot penetrate the concrete?"

The reply had a sharp edge of irritation in it. "The lead walls are not a problem. I can see past the stairs and the plumbing and the boilers and the rats. Right into the laboratory where there is a wall full of what looks to be fish tanks facing a room full of medical equipment."

The veins around the Hyuga's eyes disappeared as the man straightened. He dunked the mop in the now dirty water and wrung out the extra. He glared at the opposite wall instead of Itachi.

Bending down, the Hyuga continued.

"But everything is _empty_. Even the fish tanks."

Cold dread slipped into Itachi's bloodstream. He lost his family's legacy? How could he… He blinked once. It was slow and a desperate attempt to hide the shock and anguish that threatened to show on his face.

"_What_?" He hissed.

"There is nothing there. Nothing there except-" The Hyuga suddenly gasped. "Uchiha-san!" He exclaimed in an airy and feminine voice that was nothing like the rough timber of before.

At first, Itachi thought the Hyuga was calling him. He tensed and threw his senses in all directions. And then it occurred to him that there was another Uchiha who might be down there.

"Is it F-"

"Sasuke-san was supposed to be on a mission with Naruto-kun!" The Hyuga whispered.

The only time Itachi needed before reacting was the time it took for his brain to process the implications. He already had a kunai in his hand and had stepped towards the forbidden door before the guard caught his elbow.

"Stop! We don't have orders!"

Itachi seethed, ready for blood. Who knew what that monster had done to Sasuke? His little brother needed saving. There was no space for orders. Itachi sliced the Huyga's arm. The Hyuga hissed and recoiled. Slipping out of their grasp, Itachi only got a couple more steps before the next exclamation paralyzed him.

"He's my comrade, not yours!"

Itachi halted, his mind reeling. He needed to get to Sasuke. Needed to make him safe and oh kami-what if that monster had stolen Sasuke's eyes and-

"I'm the one responsible for him. I'll… I'll get further orders."

When Itachi slipped his kunai back into its hidden holster, he felt like he was slipping it into his own skin. He sent the Hyuga a red glare and determinedly made his way to the camera room. A stronger-than-needed genjutsu and a couple of harsh button taps later, the moment of madness was erased.

oOo

KONOHA CIPHER CORPS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS (KCCCS)

MESSAGE RECEIVED:

FROM OPERATIVE ID: 012612

DISCIPHERED MESSAGE IS AS FOLLOWS:

MISSION FAILURE: UNABLE TO LOCATE OBJECTIVE.

LOCATED FELLOW OPERATIVE. UNABLE TO PROVIDE ID. [UNDERCOVER OPERATIVE; CODE NAME: CROW] WISHES TO EXTRACT OPERATIVE. TORTURE/EXPERIMENTATION POSSIBLE.

PLEASE ADVISE.

END MESSAGE.

oOo

"Shit!" Tsunade exclaimed. "Shizune! Shizune, get over here! Which one of my men is missing?!"

oOo

Hinata could not help it. She paced the little apartment that once belonged to that guard nonstop. Threading through the tiny kitchen and rounding the ratty sofa (the only real piece of furniture in the living room), she pressed the tips of her index fingers together.

She tried watching the massive television hanging on the wall. With hundreds of channels, she was sure there had to be something loud and flashy enough to keep her distracted. But nothing did.

And nothing was going according to plan.

Hinata knew shinobi needed to be adaptable to survive. But this was her first deep cover mission and there were major issues hindering her possible success.

If realizing her contact was the infamous clan killer was not enough to knock her off her feet, realizing that one of Naruto's teammates was imprisoned finished the job.

Was Sasuke okay? Had he been taken by force? Oh no, if he was, did that mean Naruto and the rest of Team Seven were in danger?

The kunoichi sighed and perched on the edge of the couch.

In no place had Itachi been vilified more than in the Hyuga compound. The Uchiha massacre exemplified exactly what the Houses were afraid of. The Seal existed for times such as those. Hinata had been young, but enough of a nin to understand the tension that suffocated the clan as Branch members realized that Itachi was technically a Main House member. If a Main House member attacked the Branch, what protection would they have? And the Main House watched over the Branch warily, their fingers moments away from flicking into an activation seal.

Itachi threw her clan into confusion. He was a monster.

Yet, he was still a Konoha shinobi.

And when she had grabbed his arm, instead of slaughtering her, he had turned those large eyes of his on her. Even through the bleeding red of the Sharingan, Hinata could clearly read the emotion hiding around the corners. Itachi revealed fear in that moment. Fear for the only family member who had been spared.

And Hinata responded to that instinctively; identified with the fear for another. If she had been in his shoes and Hanabi was on that gurney...

Hinata bent over her knees and clutched at her falsely short hair with her larger than usual hands.

She did not want to feel sorry for the clan-killer. She did not want to absolve him of his sins just because Itachi still seemed to care about his younger sibling. He was not automatically a good person just because he was still following Konoha's orders even after all this time.

Her mental ranting snagged on that last thought. She smiled a little bitterly. A little tiredly.

Shinobi were never good people. It was impossible.

With that, Hinata felt calm enough to head to bed.

oOo

KONOHA CIPHER CORPS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS (KCCCS)

MESSAGE RECEIVED:

FROM OPERATIVE ID: 012612

DISCIPHERED MESSAGE IS AS FOLLOWS:

[UNDERCOVER OPERATIVE; CODE NAME: CROW]'S ACTIONS ARE THREATENING MISSION SUCCESS. DETERMINED TO EXTRACT CAPTURED OPERATIVE.

PLEASE ADVISE.

END MESSAGE.

oOo

Days crawled by slowly. The more accustomed Hinata became with her fake life, the more uncomfortable she became. She never interacted with Itachi, but when he passed in the hall, she felt tense for hours.

Why did Konoha not answer?

oOo

Then came the terrifying moment when they did.

oOo

KONOHA CIPHER CORPS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS (KCCCS)

MESSAGE SENT:

TO OPERATIVE ID: 012612

PRE-ENCRYPTED MESSAGE IS AS FOLLOWS:

PROCCED TO FOURTH STAGE. EXTRACT OPERATIVE. DESTROY EVIDENCE. NO SURVIVORS.

END MESSAGE.

oOo

As usual, the guard visited his pretty waitress girlfriend. With a smile, he pulled her close and whispered something in her ear. She pulled back with a blush. When it was time for him to leave, she shyly tied a ribbon around his wrist.

She would contact the other ANBU. It was time.

oOo

Itachi stalked down the hall, making his rounds before he met with Tobi. It was time for Itachi to go on another mission. There could be no more stalling.

He stewed in anger but his face was calm and his steps even. If Tobi suspected anything, then Sasuke was a dead man.

The nin paused in front of a guard who had become very familiar to him. The guard was visibly nervous and trembled a bit under Itachi's cold gaze.

Itachi slid his eyes down the guard's arm. A bright red ribbon was tied around his wrist.

The Uchiha raised a brow.

"Again?" He drawled.

The guard looked away but said nothing.

"After your shift, then." Itachi declared before continuing his steady way down the hall.

The guard snapped his heels together but did not reply.

oOo

Tobi suddenly disappeared. His assistant informed Itachi that the man was "out on business" and probably was not going to return until the next day.

Itachi gave the assistant a polite nod. Once alone in the corridor, Itachi brought his hand up to his eyes. It was shaking.

He made a fist and fluidly resumed his trek.

oOo

The power went out. The emergency lights kicked in, casting a red tint over the whole compound. Itachi felt like he had been caught in a Tsukuyomi. But it was he who had killed everyone in the control room, shut off the alarms and stained the surroundings red.

Fitting.

The Hyuga waited for him, shifting nervously in place.

"I'll get Uchiha-san and destroy the lab." The Hyuga breathed, their eyes pointed to the floor. "Backup is on their way."

Itachi firmed his jaw. He obviously wanted to be the one to save his brother. But a mission was a mission, and Itachi_ always_ followed orders.

He hissed and pushed the Huyga out of the way. Taking in a deep breath, Itachi let out a potent Katon that melted that precious steel door.

The whirling Sharingan met the throbbing Byakugan.

"Take care of your comrade," Itachi warned before disappearing in smoke.

oOo

Hinata spared a moment to wrinkle her nose at the back of the retreating shinobi. If it was anyone else, she would accuse him of showing off.

The moment quickly passed and she had other places to be. Darting through the hole left, she vanished down a set of stairs. Traps and genjustsu awaited her. She got cocky when she evaded most of them easily and got a kunai through her thigh for it.

Groaning, she clumsily stumbled to the bottom of the stairs.

"That's what I get," she whispered as a wave of dizziness threatened to sweep her off her feet.

The sting was sharp enough to cause tears to instinctually form in her eyes. Her hands ghosted over the area as she examined the damage. There were no lights in the stairwell, but her Byakugan was enough.

Hinata was loathe to rip the kunai out. She did not have time to staunch the bleeding. But if the sharp burning and dizziness was any indication, the kunai was poisoned.

With a hiss, she tore out the knife and stuck it into her belt. Pressing her hand to the wound, she channeled her chakra in a healing pattern just enough to staunch the worst of the bleeding. That was as far as she could go, not being a medic nin and needing to conserve as much chakra as possible.

Swallowing past the nausea, Hinata reached into a pocket in her cargo pants and pulled out a small package of gauze and a disinfectant wipe. Poison was enough to deal with without having to worry about an infection. With hurried movements, she cleaned off her hands and the wound before rolling the gauze into a ball. She clenched her teeth and stuffed the wound with the packing.

Groaning, she focused on breathing through the pain. Gathering the paper packaging, she stuffed her trash into her pockets. With a hop, she hobbled away.

Sasuke needed her. She could not fail now.

The weight, eye scanner and chakra sensors were next. Hinata sighed. She did not have time to be delicate about this. Even with the power outage, the electronic systems were fully operational. There was only one course of action that she immediately hated.

Taking off her regulation blouse to leave her only in an undershirt, she wrapped the fabric around her right hand. Using her activated Byakugan, she found the exact spot in the wall where the wires of the three systems met a power breaker. If she separated the systems from the power, the door would not engage its steel bars to permanently lock intruders out.

Walking over to the elevated weight plate, she crouched and dug her fingers into the small space that sat between the plate and the concrete. Taking a deep breath she pushed up with her legs and heaved.

The plate only lifted from its place for a few centimeters. It was enough. Her fingers were slender enough to reach in the gap and pull at a long exposed wire. Keeping the metal up with one hand, she used her covered one to tug a wire. It popped out of place and sent a nasty shock down her arm.

Her teeth clanked together.

A long trilling noise sounded. Hinata froze, but realized it was a good sound when the eye scanner lit up. The eye scanner was built into the wall so she had to tear the plastic material around it to get to the cables behind it. She tore out that cable too and was rewarded with another jarring shock.

Her head was pounding. Wearily, she glanced up at the ceiling, where the chakra scanner was located. There was no way she was getting up there. She only had one last choice.

Hinata whimpered and tightened the fabric around her battered hand. Walking up to the spot where the electricity box was hidden in the wall, Hinata slowly pressed a palm to a spot right over it.

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Hinata steeled herself, channeled an enormous amount of chakra to her hand… and punched right through the concrete.

The pain was immediate and brutal. She cried out and cradled her hand close to her body. While she was used to hitting inanimate objects for training, she did not have the bone structure or the intense training to be able to punch through stone.

When she got home, she was going to give Sakura the nicest manicure. If that's what Sakura had to go through each time she punched something then the woman's poor hands deserved some pampering.

She used her left hand to pull out the wire for the chakra sensor. By now, Hinata felt like one big sore.

But, she had to keep going. With her gimp leg, gimp hand and huge headache, she practically dragged herself through the slowly opening hydraulic door.

oOo

The lab must have had a separate power source as well. The motion sensor activated the lights as soon as she stepped into the chilly room. She blinked past the stars in her vision to see a lone gurney.

Seeing the sight with her Byakugan was a very different experience than seeing the last Konoha Uchiha up close. He was deathly pale and his hair stuck to his forehead and face in greasy strands. Bandages were wrapped tightly around his eyes.

The whole space smelled like formaldehyde and bleach. The chemicals in the air were so strong that they stung Hinata's nostrils and eyes.

She sniffed and moved forward. The bandages were a really bad sign. Especially for a dojustsu user.

Her milky gaze roved over the mostly empty room. Lab equipment and industrial sinks lined the walls. Only Sasuke's gurney and monitoring equipment were in the middle of the room. On another wall, clear empty boxes were built into the stone. The fish tanks.

Next to Sasuke's bed was a tray table. On it was a large jar filled to the brim with a clear liquid. Two eyes floated.

Hinata had to fight back another bout of nausea. Her watch beeped warningly.

Time to go.

In Team 8, strongest person was a tie between Kiba and Hinata. Jukenpo was very physical and taxing on the body. Her muscles needed to be strong enough to take the shockwaves of hitting something solid and large. Not something as solid as concrete, as her throbbing hand reminded her. But enough to harm a shinobi's hardened muscles. So carrying the Uchiha, even with the weight advantage he had over her was an option.

She did what she needed to free Sasuke from the oxygen tubes and IV. He groaned once, but was deadweight as she threw one of his arms over her shoulder and leveraged him into a sitting position.

"Wake up, please." She whispered without much conviction. She was still wearing the illusion of the guard and her soft voice sounded very silly when visibly she had such large and hairy hands.

Hinata paused and gathered the medical equipment on the tray table, stuffing it into her pockets or the larger items into her shirt. Unsupported, Sasuke slumped to fall on his side.

She hurried over before he slipped to the floor. He was dressed in nothing more than some thin drawstring pants and a thin shirt. She idly wished there were cabinets around here. Maybe she could have found him some shoes.

Another beep from her watch.

Now it was _really_ time to go. The bombs would not wait for her.

She pushed Sasuke to sit upright again. She threw his arms over her shoulders and lightly tied his wrists together in front of her chest with a stray bandage. Shuffling backwards towards him until his chest was firmly pressed against her back; she took hold of his thighs and used her leg muscles to stand upright.

Both of them groaned a bit. Hinata at the weight, Sasuke at the movement.

Bouncing him on her back to get him a little higher on her body, she took a breath and started running.

oOo

They had gotten to the hallway with the melted door when Sasuke came to. He grumbled loudly and tried to pull back, almost choking Hinata in the process. She dove into the stairwell and tucked them in a hidden corner before letting him down.

Sweat beaded on her forehead. She panted desperately for breath. It was hard to train when she was pretending to be a waitress. The fact that she was channeling her chakra to keep up her illusion did not help anything.

With a groan, she let the illusion go. She watched what she could see of Sasuke's face.

He snarled and ripped the bandages off before she could stop him. To her relief, his normal black orbs blinked angrily at her.

"What-"

Hinata hastily cut off his demands.

"I'm sorry Uchiha-san, but we don't have much time. I need to get you out of here."

He tensed, ready to fight even while sprawled on the floor.

Hinata sighed and activated her Byakugan. "I'm Konoha."

"Where's your headband?" His voice was terribly husky and scratchy with disuse.

"I'm undercover," she scolded. Her watch beeped. Her leg throbbed. Her hand was stiff with pain. Her head spun. Miraculously, she managed a coherent sentence. "Can you stand?"

He tried and succeeded but his knees were shaking. Hinata braced him. But now that he was awake, she could carry him differently.

"Fireman's carry it is," she declared almost cheerfully.

He groaned.

Hinata crouched, brought one of his arms across her body, dug a shoulder into his side and stood. The move allowed his body to drape around her shoulders. It was uncomfortable for him and put a strain on her neck, but she was getting tired and she needed to brace his weight with a different set of muscles.

His hand settled onto her lower back and pushed firmly, helping her stand upright.

She sucked in breath, swallowed past a wave of dizziness and charged at the stairs.

Her watch beeped another warning. Ten more minutes.

oOo

Itachi found Tobi on the river. The masked man let out his chakra like a homing beacon, calling for any challengers.

Itachi sucked in a breath. One more fight and it would be all over. He was just so tired.

The shinobi took stock of his surroundings. The river was many kilometers wide and all the boat traffic had disappeared. It was an open space and Tobi's choice of battlefield sent a clear message.

This was a fight to the death. No hiding. No games.

Itachi huffed out his breath and took off sprinting.

As a warning, he flicked a couple of kunai at Tobi. Tobi did not move until Itachi was practically on top of him. Tobi dodged a kick and flickered away to appear a couple of meters away.

Itachi stopped, joining in the stare down.

"I always knew you would come to disappoint me." Tobi rumbled.

Itachi was unmoved.

"You never believed in the revolution." The masked man continued. "You have no loyalty."

"My loyalty is to Konoha and to the Uchiha." Itachi corrected.

"The Uchiha were traitors!" Tobi seethed. "They didn't have the guts to take their rightful place as the leaders of Konoha."

After years of listening to his father's foolishness, Itachi had no more patience.

"What did you do to Sasuke?" Itachi demanded.

Tobi slipped off his mask. His destroyed face made the half grin he flashed macabre.

"He will be the new generation. I knew you would betray me, so I placed my legacy inside him instead. You will find nothing in that warehouse, except for my new weapon."

Itachi could feel his eyes swirling into a familiar pattern. Tobi, formerly the disgraced clan head, Fugaku, laughed as his own eyes swirled into his version of the Mangekyo.

"You know Tsukuyomi does not affect me," Fugaku murmured.

Itachi nodded. "Our abilities are exactly the same."

Fugaku's eyes hardened. "Then you cannot make a mistake. Or I will kill you."

oOo

"Stop." Came the hoarse rasp.

Hinata gratefully stumbled to a stop and let down her passenger as carefully as she could manage. Her muscles were burning from both holding Sasuke and running up the steep stairs.

"We only have a couple of seconds to rest," Hinata gasped as she braced the man slumped into her side.

"How much longer until time has run out?"

Hinata gritted her teeth as the world around her briefly flipped. Her basic sense of balance was being affected by the poison. She blinked repeatedly. It felt like she was standing right side up once more but her vision still was blurry.

With a sigh, she forced a burst of chakra through her system. The surge caused the loosening of some tension and helped clear the smoke in her head. The face of her watch became clear once more.

"Three minutes."

"How far are we from the exit?"

"Four minutes."

"I can run."

Hinata did not even try to argue. When she slung his arm over her shoulders and slipped an arm around his waist, she was unsure by that point who was supporting whom.

oOo

The declaration was a battle cry and the nin flew into action. Fugaku flew forward and threw a series of kicks and punches, in which only glancing blows connected. Itachi moved to offense, grabbing Fugaku's wrist and pulling forward. Fugaku broke the hold, but the change in pace was enough for Itachi to move to offense.

Using the momentum, Itachi jumped and released kunai. Fugaku slipped his own blade out of his sleeve and deflected the projectiles. He released a katon and so did Itachi.

The fight would have gone on like this for a while, if not for a large explosion that went off on the river bank. Fugaku allowed himself only a moment to glance in the direction of the fireball.

"Sasuke was inside!" Fugaku spat as he dodged out of the way of a spray of shuriken.

"No, he wasn't." Or at least, that was what Itachi hoped.

Fugaku's eyes widened. "You're working with others? With Konoha?!"

Itachi wondered why that would be his father's first guess. Itachi had made many allies over the years, some of which were known to his father and none with a Konohagakure nin.

Perhaps that was his father's secret fear, he mused. The Uchiha clan betrayed Fugaku's dream of rebellion in favor of staying loyal to Konoha. And when he tried to force them, they disfigured him as a sign of his disgrace. Hatred grew in Fugaku's heart. Hatred for the Uchiha, for the Konoha. But never for his sons.

There, an opening.

"Amaterasu!"

Fugaku only had a moment. His eyes widened and he flickered out of existence. Itachi mentally cursed.

Their techniques and skills were exactly the same except for two exceptions. Fugaku had the Body Flicker and Itachi had Susanoo.

Itachi was fatiguing and the light in his eyes were dimming. He could hardly see the scars on his father's face. Physically, he would not be able to keep up with the Body Flicker and the Amaterasu was chewing at the waves.

He had one last option and this one would have to seal it. He released his chakra and Susanoo formed around him, just in time.

A large fireball hit him in the back. His Susanoo blocked it but it still caused Itachi to stumble forward a couple of steps.

He took stock of his injuries as his father prowled around, looking for a weakness. A kunai had cut a large gash in his stomach. His chakra was dangerously low and his eyes were dimming. He would not be able to keep up the complete form of Susanoo for very long. All of his kunai were spent. Clutching at his stomach, he tried to see a way out.

Something occurred to him. He did not have to survive this encounter. He just had to ensure his father did not either. And if Itachi's wounds were minimal then so were Fugaku's.

At this rate, Fugaku would outlast him. He had more inherent chakra than his son. Itachi would fail.

After all this time, he would fail.

His eyes widened as the horrid truth hit him and the Susanoo flickered before disappearing altogether.

Fugaku surged forward, brandishing a kunai. He was within reaching distance when the shine of triumph in both eyes turned into pure disbelief in just one. His momentum still pushed him forward but his drooping limbs missed Itachi's neck and instead cut into Itachi's shoulder, where the knife got stuck on his collar bone.

Fugaku fell to his knees, his head bowed. He stilled for a moment before falling back.

Unable to use chakra, his body began sinking into the water. Sticking out of his right eye and piercing his brain in an immediate death sentence was a borrowed pink pen. Itachi watched the cartoon rodent bob up and down on the spring.

He turned away and deactivated his Sharingan. This was not a memory he wanted to keep. ANBU appeared on either side of him. One grabbed his father's body and teleported away. The Hound escorted Itachi to the shore and into custody.

It was finally over.

oOo

Back in town, two nin were laying on the ground near a burning warehouse, panting. Their clothes were full of ash, their skin cut by flying rubble. Tiger slid to a stop in front of them.

"Are you alive?" He breathed.

One of Hinata's eyes opened a fraction as she squinted up at the ANBU. For some reason the question struck her as absolutely hilarious. She bit her lip and turned her head to the side. Sasuke was sprawled on his stomach but his face was turned towards her.

The corner of his lips twitched upwards and Hinata collapsed into giggles. She pulled her injured hand into her chest and curled into a fetal position, still laughing.

Yes, they were very much alive.

oOo

KONOHA CIPHER CORPS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS (KCCCS)

MESSAGE RECEIVED:

FROM OPERATIVE ID: 009720

DISCIPHERED MESSAGE IS AS FOLLOWS:

EN ROUTE. RETURNING WITH [UNDERCOVER OPERATIVE; CODE NAME: CROW]. WITH [UNDERCOVER OPERATIVE; CODE NAME: KITSUNE]. HAVE EXTRACTED AND RECOVERED CAPTURED OPERATIVE.

MISSION SUCCESS.

END MESSAGE.

oOo

As the months passed, Konoha buzzed over the new drama that the reappearance of Itachi Uchiha provided. Hinata only half paid attention to the unfolding situation. The others in her group always made sure to inform her of any updates, so she was always in the know.

Itachi Uchiha always managed to make an impression on the imagination of the citizens.

One day as she was heading home, Hinata spotted the man in question sitting on a bench outside the Academy tower. Even though the street was packed, everyone kept their distance from him, keeping even their clothes from swirling into his airspace. If he had not been infamous before, he was definitely famous now.

The trial had been one of the biggest in Konoha history. For every day of the proceedings, Itachi's face had been plastered all over the news cycle. He became known as the traitor who was actually a hero. He helped kill his own family to gain the trust of a terrorist.

He was a champion. He was a monster.

Hinata gingerly picked her way over to his seat. Breaking his personal bubble of intimidation, she sat next to him.

"Were you the Hyuga who was there?" He did not look at her but there was no other person he could be talking to.

She nodded. "Yes." She had been promoted to jonin because of the mission.

"You saved Sasuke." Unsaid: _You did well._

Hinata just nodded and gazed out at the city, trying to see what he saw. She was here for a reason, but her words kept getting tangled on her tongue.

"I-" A false start. She licked her lips and tried again. "I already told Hokage-sama, but I volunteered myself to be your mission partner when you need one."

He did look at her then. His expressionless black eyes scanned her face, analyzing her.

"I have been banned from going on official missions and have been prohibited from leaving the Village." Everyone knew from the trial. "I am no longer a shinobi."

Hinata could not hide her small smile. As a Hyuga, she was very adept at reading between the lines. Underneath under the underneath.

"Tsunade-sama's exact words were: 'Official missions' and you are now 'decommissioned.'" She did not continue since they were in a public place.

But they both knew what she was saying. He was decommissioned but not for eternity. The option to re-commission him at any time had been left wide open. After he finished his public atonement and community service, Tsunade was free to send him on any unofficial mission. And if he got caught, well, he had always been a rogue.

Itachi raised a brow. "Why would the Hyuga heiress associate with someone of my reputation?"

She could not tell him that she saw herself in him. That she connected with him, in his moment of complete fear for his brother. Was it even prudent to bond with such a man over a tiny moment like that?

Instead, she smiled guilelessly and stood. "Even you need someone to watch your back, Uchiha-san."

She gave him a tiny, awkward wave before stepping forward and letting the crowd engulf her.

Itachi leaned back and drummed his fingers on his knee. He did not watch her go but he remembered sensation of her presence next to him for a long time afterwards.

There could be worse partners, he mused.

Itachi stood gracefully and made his way in the opposite direction. Only time would tell.

oOo

Tsunade gazed out onto the city below as she reclined in her chair. Her eyes cut to the side as Shizune entered.

"Can you take that file back to the Personnel Office?" Tsunade asked, waving a hand lazily at the desk behind her.

"Of course, Hokage-sama. Is there anything else you needed?"

Tsunade knew by now that even asking nicely for sake was not going to work, so she did not even try. "No, not now. You can go home."

"Thank you. See you tomorrow."

The Hokage waited for Shizune's presence to disappear completely before she turned around and looked at the spot where Hinata's file sat just moments ago.

The woman drummed her fingers on the desk and looked up at the ceiling tiles as she contemplated a Hyuga, an Uchiha and ferreting out secrets.

"What else is the Konoha Council keeping from me?" She mused. Her fingers tapped one last time. The wood of her desk creaked.

Sarutobi may have let the Council get away with literal murder, but Tsunade had no qualms about busting a few heads open.

Konoha and this patchwork shinobi force belonged to her now. And Itachi was just the right weapon to help her pry the Council apart.

Tsunade smirked.

The End.

**oOo**

**Notes:**

Title was inspired from a Flume and Lorde mash-up by WEKEED that is also titled 'Sleepless Club.'

Hinata's code name is kitsune because they were known for seducing men for nefarious purposes. Also, they are known for shape shifting. If you want to make any parallels to Naruto and his own fox situation, you probably will think of something cooler than I ever could.

_Why did you make Tobi end up being Fugaku?_ I didn't want it to be a rehash of the manga, but admittedly, I'm terrible at thinking up new jutsu for him. Also, Obito's kamui was only really matched by Kakashi's kamui, and I wanted it to be an Itachi vs. Tobi match-up only.

_What happened to Sasuke?_ A sequel is in the works but I can't promise when it will be out. It will explain what happened to Sasuke, where the Akatsuki is, what happened to the eyes, the other guards, etc.

_That's not how security systems work. _*Buries face in hands* I am aware. I can try to excuse myself if you would like. I got distracted by magic ninjas? I was following Hollywood logic?

Please leave any other questions, feedback or prompts in the reviews. If you're an anon and you want to actually have a conversation without committing to an account, feel free to leave an anonymous ask on my Tumblr (link on my profile) and I can actually reply. Hope you liked it!


	2. Chasing Pavements

All Naruto properties belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Viz Media. I'm just futzing with the world and characters for a bit.

**Title: Chasing Pavements**

Summary: Drabble series (10 of 60). All of my drabble prompts were taken from Tumblr.

Rating: G/K

**oOo**

**1:Self-deception**

Hinata is an expert at lying to herself and faithfully believes all her various untruths. She is slow, she is weak, she is a _terrible kunoichi. _

Itachi is an expert at lying for people and faithfully believes all his various untruths, especially when they come to Sasuke. Sasuke is sane, he is faithful to Konoha, he is the Uchiha clan's _only hope_.

And when the two meet on the field of battle, their deceptions are exposed to one another. But they are enemies. So Itachi cannot compliment her juken and she cannot beg him to control his brother.

**2:Manipulation**

The graceful twists of Hinata's fingers hide how mechanically she is moving. She serves tea to the Lord and his companions with a smile hidden behind her lips. Her empty eyes meet those of the Lord's hired ninja bodyguard and the muscle's chakra pulses.

"She's under a genjutsu!"

The Lord's entourage jump into action, ushering him down the stairs and out of the inn. Sounds of a large scuffle drift up to her ears, before everything silences. She remains still.

A figure slides in from the balcony.

"Are you alright?" Itachi leans in.

She nods and slips her contacts out.

**3:Overbearing**

If Itachi was Hinata's jonin sensei, he would be tempted to tell Hiashi where to stick it. Kurenai-san is close to doing that herself, he notices with subtle amusement.

The problem lies with Hinata's self-confidence. Chunin are required to be confident in their decisions. Yet, all of Kurenai's lessons are undermined when Hinata goes home and returns in the morning with shaking hands.

Itachi sighs and peers down at his brother at his side. At least Sasuke is protected from their father...

"Come, Sasuke." He prods before walking towards Hinata.

**4:Deluded**

Itachi follows Hinata's gaze over his water glass. His eyes return to her face and observe how her mouth turns down.

He wants to give her advice but she never listens. Instead, Itachi is forced to watch his friend wallow in misery as Naruto slips deeper into a love for another woman.

"You should go talk to him." The words sit heavily on his tongue. He swallows and both his drink and his urging slip down his throat.

He does not know what is worse. That she thinks she does not deserve Naruto, or that she will not even try.

**5:Mechanization**

The Research and Development Department is shrouded in so much mystery that even shinobi cannot break through. Itachi and Hinata have been specially invited for some reason.

"What is it?" Hinata quietly asks. The silence in the compound suffocating.

"The future." The technician grins.

"Goggles?" Itachi raises a brow.

"Enhancers." The technician breathes.

Itachi and Hinata share a dubious look. Their eyes and chakra have always been enough to overcome any obstacle. This new technology is not something they need.

Hinata blinks before something horrifying occurs to her.

It occurs to Itachi too. "No."

No one is touching their eyes.

**6:Comatose**

Hinata volunteers at the hospital when she can. She likes it and sometimes she picks up tricks and tips that she uses to nurse the small injuries her clan members pick up here and there.

Her volunteer work is nothing extraordinary. She works in various wings; bringing patients water, restocking the supply room, delivering mail and flowers.

She is carrying a bouquet when she almost spills water all over the person standing in front of her.

"Itachi-san!" She gasps.

"Hinata-san, are you alright?"

She nods before lowering her voice.

"Your mother?"

Itachi's lips tighten in the only answer she needs.

**7:Belief**

"I'm doing this for the good of Konoha." He grounds out.

Her eyes flash. "I'm sorry but I don't think you are. How will this help anyone?"

"You know my reasons."

Hinata sighs and steps closer to her friend. "I know but I still don't understand."

Itachi stands impassively in the hall, even though her words hit him like a punch to the stomach.

_I know but I still don't understand._

That is how he feels about the whole situation. His shoulders loosen a bit. He is glad someone is arguing with him.

"I don't know what else to do."

**8:Impulse**

Hinata gasps and turns to Itachi. "Would you like to get dango?" She asks, before wincing. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Just because they have gone on a couple of missions together does not mean they are friends. He probably does not want to stick around and suffer her presence any longer.

"You probably want to go home and-"

Itachi uses his height advantage as he peers at the small shop behind her. A smile tickles his lips. "I would enjoy dango very much."

Hinata brings her hands down from her mouth to reveal a grin. They head to the door together.

**9:Eagerness**

"How goes the paperwork?" Itachi murmurs.

His question is already half-answered answered by the way Hinata is face down on the table, her hair splayed around her.

She sits up and sighs, pushing hair out of her face with her palms. Her fingers are ink-stained.

"Impossible. Between the marriage certificates, birth certificates, birth and death announcements, weapons and supply forms, checking the receipts from our accountant... There is so much."

Welcome to running a clan. Itachi hums and sets down the bakery box before moving to the sink for tea. Hinata peers into the box and gasps, her energy returning with force.

"Cinnamon rolls!"

**10:Tears**

The only person Hinata feels safe crying around was Itachi. Tears are forbidden around her father and Neji desperately tries to make them stop, neither understanding the necessity of expressing emotion. Kiba becomes edgy and extremely upset. Shino becomes even more impassive but his bugs will be hum loudly, agitated.

Itachi offers comfort if it is needed, but he simply offers space. She is in a safe place around him. She does not feel bad for being a woman or being emotional.

And when Itachi needs to shed tears for the death of his mother, he does so with Hinata.

**oOo**

If there is a prompt you would like to see, please let me know! I hope you enjoyed!

Title credit goes to the Adele song of the same name.


	3. Playing For Ghosts

All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Viz Media. I'm just futzing with the world and characters for a bit.

I want to sincerely thank those people who have reviewed, put this on their alerts or on their favorites. Any show of support is extremely wonderful to see. Enjoy!

oOo

**Title: Playing For Ghosts**

Summary: Drabble series (11-20 of 60). All my drabble prompts were taken from Tumblr.

Rating: K+/PG

**oOo**

**11:Sweat**

Drops of salty liquid slip into Hinata's eyes. She blinks as they sting. Her target jumps on the opportunity.

Hinata activates her Byakugan just in time to see Itachi bearing down on her from above.

She tucks into a roll, just missing a kunai. Itachi throws the rest of the knives in his hand as she attempts to get to her feet.

Hinata knocks them away with her own kunai and darts to the side. If Itachi keeps her on the defensive, she will lose. She channels chakra to her hands and changes direction. Springing forward, Hinata makes her stand.

**12:Renewal**

"I haven't seen you in a while," Hinata offers politely.

Itachi raises a brow. Instead of awkwardly skirting the controversy or clumsily blundering into the mess, she makes it sound like he was simply studying abroad. Not running from the havoc he caused.

He raised his expensive coffee to his lips, studying her face.

"It has been some time." He offered.

Hinata brightened at getting a response. Her fingers tightened around her own cup. "The Village has grown a bit since you left. If you would like, I can give you a tour."

Simply, she lets him know she still considers him a friend.

**13:Temptation**

"You'll regret it later," Itachi warns. His lips are pinned into a frown.

Hinata whines wordlessly and her eyes are pleading.

He scoffs and looks away. Not because she would make him give in, but because… It did not matter. He simply could not face her soft-hued gaze or pouting lips.

"You do _not _have to ask me for permission."

Hinata's face lights up as she leans over the table, longingly stretches out a hand and…

Itachi's breath catches.

…She snatches the last cinnamon roll.

Later, the sugar makes her feel sluggish in training and she wishes she had shared.

**14:Abandonment**

Hinata's presence in not uncommon in the Uchiha compound. Despite their age and rank differences, Itachi and Hinata have formed a strange bond. Apart, they are isolated. Silent watchers on the fringes. Together, they are an inseparable duo.

However, while Hinata's presence is not surprising, her rumpled state is. She shows up pale and her bottom lip has been chewed to tatters.

Mikoto steps back and lets the girl enter the house.

Itachi finds Hinata waiting for him in his room.

"Hinata?"

"They don't want me anymore," she whispers to the floor. "Nobody does."

He catches her hand. "Not true."

**15:Glass**

He brings her a little glass figurine. It is the most exquisite thing she has ever seen. A sunflower that glistens in the light, she handles it with careful fingers.

Her reaction pleases him. It is hard to find someone who appreciates the care put into art.

Even at her young age, she knows it is delicate. Her father tries to tear it away from her but she dances away from him and hides it.

Years pass. Blood stains her fingers as she spares a moment to regard her sunflower. Her friend is long gone, but the glass is intact.

**16:Laughter**

Hinata does not laugh. She giggles, her fingertips covering her mouth. As if someone seeing her joy would be offended by it.

Itachi does not laugh. He only allows himself hints of a grin and chuckles.

They do not laugh around each other either. But sometimes when it is Itachi, Sasuke and Hinata, they forget their manners.

Maybe she forgets to hide her lips. Maybe Itachi lets his mirth crease the corners of his eyes.

Sasuke likes Hinata if only for that reason. They can all be honest with each other. Sometimes, he will laugh for the both of them.

**17:Morning**

Morning dawns cold. The sun does not do anything but highlight the dew covering Hinata's arms.

She cannot move, not even to turn to her teammate crouched next to her. They are being hunted by a nin far stronger than the pair combined.

A whisper reaches her ears. Blood rushes through her veins, igniting it and momentarily heating her body. Their hunter is close.

The whisper passes and Hinata becomes chilled again. In a moment of weakness, she leans towards her partner. He shifts so his arm presses against hers.

They warm each other until it is time to flee.

**18:Poison**

Hinata is skilled with poisons. She learned her trade from her mother, who learned from hers and so on. It is a tradition, one that Hanabi never cared to learn. But Hinata did and with her gardening skills, engineered some of the most potent strains Konoha has ever seen.

Her work in Itachi's tea is sloppy. He notices it immediately.

He tips the cup over, betrayed.

"Why?"

Hinata's pale eyes are steady even if her balled hands are shaking.

"If I did not kill you, other Konoha shinobi would."

On cue, nin storm the room. But no one is there.

**19:Silence**

They meet in a subdued glade.

Hinata settles down in the grass and a beat later, Itachi fades into view. She picks an orange out of her basket and without a sound; Itachi takes it and begins peeling it for her.

She smiles and blushes her thanks. They eat their lunch. No words pass between them. When they are done, she gives him a questioning look. He nods.

Hinata moves to pack their peels and empty bento boxes back in the basket. Itachi closes the mug he brought. She stands, waves and leaves in one direction. He leaves in another.

**20:Mourning**

No one wants to attend this funeral. Fugaku is considered a traitor. His death happened in the failed coup. But his son is a war hero. A faithful double agent.

Everyone is in attendance for Itachi's sake. The mourners stand as far from the tombstone and the decimated Uchiha clan as is polite. Except for one young woman. She boldly slips in next to Itachi.

Everyone stares, even Sasuke and Mikoto. Hinata pays them no mind.

She extends her pinkie expectantly and the crowd is genuinely surprised when Itachi laces his own through hers.

They keep their little fingers linked.

**oOo**

If there is something you would like to see, or something you want expanded, please let me know!

Title credit goes to Jan Haak and his original composition "Those Who Play for Ghosts." (You can find it on Youtube if it is available in your country.)


	4. Paradise Under Their Feet, Keep Walking

All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Viz Media. I'm just futzing with the world and characters for a bit.

Thank you guys for all your support. Here's another long one.

*Note: The "Hyuga Affair" a.k.a. Hinata's kidnapping is supposed to happen when she is three. For the sake of the story, she's about four or five. Just a little tweak.

oOo

**Title: Paradise Under Their Feet, Keep Walking**

Summary: The Uchiha Clan have adopted a little sparrow who was cast out of her nest. But Itachi is starting to suspect that Hinata is not as defenseless as she is pretending to be.

Rating: K+

**oOo**

Itachi is dirty, tired and so hungry he's nauseous when a small body slams into his knees. He stops and bemusedly stares down at the child clutching at his canvas pants. His clothes are caked with brown, dried filth but the child wipes their face on them anyway.

The Uchiha stares.

He's in Konoha proper, hardly a couple of meters from the compound wall. So it is most likely the stranger is not a threat.

But what kind of child accosts a dirty nin? He left his armor and mask at Headquarters, but he has clearly come back from a mission.

Oh spirits, he's so tired and his home is _right there_. His Sharingan digs hotly into the top of the child's head.

_Let go,_ he mentally commands.

Muffled sobs reach his ears. Instead of complying, the kid tightens their grip and shakes so hard that Itachi starts to feel unstable. One particularly strong tremor and the child turns their face up.

He knows her. Even covered in tears and transferred filth from his pants, her puffy eyes and short hair identify her.

"Hyuga-sama." He murmurs and places a hand on her shoulder. "What are you-"

She screws her eyes shut and shouts in a whisper. "My clan tried to kill me!"

Even as an ANBU, he freezes. His hand reflexively tightens on her shoulder.

"_What?_" His voice has deepened an octave and it rasps against his throat.

She sniffles and gives another whole body shiver. Itachi tries to think. She's Sasuke's age. Barely five. Who would try to kill a child? What clan would try to kill their own heiress?

Itachi decides she must be bluffing. He pushes her back despite her attempts to regain ahold of his pants.

"Hyuga-sama," he starts firmly. "Go home."

"No!" She wails. "Uchiha-sama you-y-you h-have to help me! They'll kill me!"

Itachi winces at her volume. A clan member who has guard duty tonight appears next to them. Itachi resists the urge to hiss and gathers the small girl into his arms. He launches himself up and lands in the Uchiha compound.

He stares down at her trembling body and realizes she has gone into shock. In the dim lantern-light he can also make something out. Blood coats her entire front and sluggishly seeps from wicked-looking scratches around her eyes.

The Uchiha guard hisses.

"Go get a clan healer." Itachi orders.

The guard inclines his head and disappears into the shadows. Itachi crouches and leaps onto a nearby roof. The Hyuga curls around her wounds and presses herself into his abdomen. She tries to say "Thank you" but she cries so hard she chokes on her own tears.

oOo

Itachi stands in front of the door that leads into their guest room. The door slides open and his father emerges, sucking his lips into a deep frown.

Itachi's gaze meets his.

"She'll live. Our healer was able to stabilize her." Fugaku inclines his head to the side and Itachi falls into step with his father as they walk towards the stairs. "She had a kunai still buried in her clothing. It looks like something from Kumogakure."

Itachi's brows furrow slightly. "A Lightning nin?" Then what of the assertion that it was her clan? There was that Head Ninja that was staying in the village to sign the peace treaty.

Fugaku wipes a hand over his face. He appears to be tired but a strange light gleams behind his eyes. Itachi watches it warily.

"There's also a rumor from the Hyuga compound. Hyuga Hizashi is dead."

Itachi's brain stutters. He blinks once. "What does that mean?" He asks slowly.

Fugaku laughs once. He is used to long nights but the one before had been particularly harrowing. "Nothing's been confirmed."

_Yet_. Itachi understands the subtext. He analyzes all the possible options. Either the Lightning nin killed Hizashi, or Hizashi had been attempting to kill his niece in the guise of a Lightning nin. If that was the case… Hizashi could have been killed by his clan leader. The other option was absurd.

"She's a pre-genin." Itachi says. "How did she escape?"

That light in Fugaku's eyes gets even brighter. "How indeed?" He intones, his tone conveying volumes. "The healer said the chakra pathways around her hands displayed signs of overuse."

Itachi stares into his father's eyes until the older man finally slips his gaze away and turns. "I'll see you at breakfast, Itachi."

He stares at his father's back as his mind whirls like an activating Sharingan.

Hizashi could have also been killed by his niece.

oOo

Hinata kneels in front of Fugaku and Itachi. They're in the formal receiving room in the Main House. This is where Fugaku meets with his clan and guests.

She focuses her milky eyes on the tatami in front of her and she has not looked up once. For once she is not shaking, but Itachi can see how her eyes are wide in fear and her eyelashes are clumped from moisture.

"Why did you come to us?" Fugaku asks.

Hinata's gaze flies in a panicked arc over the floor. She hunches her back like she expects a blow to land at any time. It has been over a week but there are still bandages on her face and abdomen. Itachi idly wonders if her frantic breathing is making her wounds hurt.

"I-I…" She tries.

She reminds Itachi of the tiny swallows that have a nest in the tree next to his bedroom window. Her voice is much like theirs. Airy and chirpy and completely unthreatening.

"Father-no… H-H-Hyuga-sama hates me. B-But he hates t-the Uchi… the Uchiha more. He can't ki-… hurt me when-when I-I'm here."

Fugaku's eyes narrow in amusement. "Would you like shelter, Hyuga Hinata?"

She finally looks up. "Please, Uchiha-sama." She whispers and bows until her forehead touches the ground.

They accept.

oOo

The resulting political mess is a coursing river that the Uchiha clan barely manages to maneuver through. Their clan makes up a significant part of the police force. Plus, their clan is a mighty and numerous one. The Hyuga are small but their roots and influence run deep.

A tribunal is called. An investigation is waged. Well, as much as an investigation can be waged without offending Kumogakure and with the Hyuga refusing to allow the village to autopsy Hizashi. The official word that comes out is convoluted and fools no one. The story: someone impersonating a Lightning Nin snuck in to steal the Hyuga heiress' eyes. Hyuga Hizashi bravely gave up his life to save his niece. The impersonator escaped and might possibly return. For Hinata's safety, she will be put in the custody of the Military Police Force.

It does not explain why the Hyuga disowns Hinata. It does not explain why Hinata is permanently in the care of the Police Force instead of her family. It does not explain who this impersonator is.

It does not really explain what happened that night.

Not even Itachi or Fugaku are truly sure. In the beginning, Sarutobi requests to see Hinata alone. When the Uchiha agree, Hinata disappears for a week, deep in the bowels of the Village. Itachi becomes nervous. Nin who disappear from their own village go to T&amp;I.

But Hinata is not a nin.

At least, not officially.

When Sarutobi presents Hinata to the Uchiha clan, Itachi is not surprised to see all her bandages gone. Unfortunately, the scratches around her eyes scar. Even if most are not extremely noticeable, he wonders if she will be disfigured for life.

Itachi bristles and before he knows it, he has claimed responsibility for this little life. He and his father escort the little child to her new clan compound. She keeps her head down and her hands tightly clasped in front of her. When they pass the Hyuga clan compound, she hunches her shoulders and starts shaking like an autumn leaf.

Itachi cannot feel any killing intent emanating from the compound walls. But he can feel all the eyes.

"Hnn…" Fugaku remarks casually. "It will be interesting to not have them as neighbors anymore."

Hinata's eyes shoot up to him.

"Ah, you haven't heard?" Fugaku continues. "Our clan will be moving inwards, closer to our Police Headquarters."

Her hands spasm and she lets out a long blast of air. "W-why?" She asks so quietly, the sound is almost swallowed by their sandals crunching on the pathway gravel.

Fugaku does not comment until they have entered the Uchiha compound and the massive gate closes behind them. "The Hyuga will be taking this land from us."

Tears form in Hinata's eyes. Itachi knows she is confused as to why Fugaku seems so pleased about this. His eyes widen in shock as she falls to her knees and bows. Even Fugaku blinks.

"I-I'm sorry! I-I h-h-have in-I have d-d-done this!"

Fugaku squats and with more tenderness than Itachi expected, the Clan Head places a hand on her back. "We are returning to our original lands. For that, I have to thank you."

She trembles but does not get up. Her small hands clench at the dirt and her breathing is coming heavy. She is sniffling and coughing with the dust she is inhaling.

Itachi feels sick looking at her panic. He meets his father's eyes and they exchange a bewildered look. What did the Hyuga do to their heiress? She is too young to have panic attacks.

Itachi leans down and picks up the girl into his arms. Sasuke still likes being carried, even in secret, and he hopes it will calm the little girl just enough for her to stop crying. He awkwardly pats her back as she sobs into her hands.

His hands are thin and he had been teased on more on one occasion for it. But his fingers span almost the entire width of her back.

It would not take that much to crush her. Perhaps that was the problem.

The two men hurry to their house. At the doorway, Mikoto waits. She croons and without any prompting, takes the small bundle from Itachi's arms. This only makes Hinata cry harder. The men back away in surprise and just a bit of fear.

What did they do? Fugaku just wants to celebrate. While the Hyuga are getting more land, the Uchiha are getting something even better. The public opinion is swaying to favor the Uchiha. The civilian population suspects the worst- as is their wont -of the Hyuga. It appears more that their tiny little daughter is being taken from the irresponsible Hyuga. When the Uchiha eventually adopt her, Fugaku is sure that the public will have nothing but absolute trust in the Uchiha.

But Hinata is wailing.

Mikoto smiles and rests her cheek on Hinata's head. Mikoto rocks side to side while shooing the men away. They leave. Quickly.

oOo

Itachi sits on the back porch of Shisui's. The two cousins lounge in the shade with a half-empty plate of dango and mostly-full teacups between them.

"How are you fairing?" Itachi asks as he watches two children with heavy lidded eyes.

Shisui smiles widely. "I've always wanted a little sister."

Itachi reaches for his tea. "And is she adjusting well?"

Itachi first thought Hinata would stay with his family. But he was sure that the Hyuga would wage a coup if that happened and Sarutobi was fighting with the reigns against the council as it was. So Hinata went with Shisui's family.

Shisui frowns, his eyes turning introspective. "She's still a bit jumpy. She doesn't like anyone touching her. The nightmares are getting somewhat better. She's not scared every time she wakes up anymore."

Itachi sips his tea. Sasuke is currently elbows deep in the mud of his aunt's garden. He is spreading out the compost, which is the only task his aunt will let him undertake while she is not there. Hinata sits next to him, listening to his chatter. She never contributes. But once Shisui realized Hinata likes sitting in the garden, he tries to have her spend time in it as much as possible. It is early spring and soon, flowers will bloom.

"She is still nervous to overstep her bounds." Itachi muses.

Shisui sighs. "Mother hates that Hinata is so nervous around us."

Itachi suspects that Shisui hated it too, but says nothing. Itachi sends Shisui a sidelong glance, only to see him frown. Itachi follows his cousin's gaze to see Sasuke stand and take Hinata's wrist with a dirty hand.

It would almost appear that Sasuke is pulling her against her will, if not for the fact that she is not looking at the ground. Her head is raised, boldly facing the two older boys.

"Aniki! Shisui!" Sasuke cries, bounding forward. "Hinata has something she wants to tell you!"

The older boys turn their gaze to her. For a moment she quails, but she raises her head back to its previous position.

"I-" She tries but Sasuke cuts her off.

"She wants-"

"Sasuke!" Shisui scolds. "Let her speak."

Sasuke frowns bitterly. He has taken to his new playmate fast. His mission to win her over and monopolize her attention makes Itachi feel a little unsteady. It does not help that his mother and aunt will trade speaking smiles whenever the two children are in the same room.

Hinata's chin dips a bit. She never wants to be a bother. A bit of her confidence gone, she boldly grasps the calf of Shisui's pant leg. Sasuke looks mutinous but both Itachi and Shisui are stunned.

"Sasuke-kun says he will g-go to the Academy to-to be a shinobi." She breathes. "He says he will learn how to protect…" She trails off and visibly has to take a breath.

Itachi knows what is going to come next but he does not believe it himself. The little sparrow cannot possibly be interested in more violence.

Sasuke now takes her free hand between both of his. His excitement is palpable. She keeps her eyes on the dango plate. Until she does not. She meets Shisui's gaze and then Itachi's. Slowly, as she speaks carefully.

"I want to learn how to protect myself. And the Uchiha."

Shisui coughs out a laugh and rubs the back of his head nervously. Hinata's gaze falls back to the floor.

"We're going to have to wait until Father comes home to talk about it." He sooths.

Sasuke whines something but Itachi is not listening. He cannot get the look in her eyes out of his mind. Hinata may be a little sparrow, but her eyes…

They are as cold as ice.

Itachi wants to know what happened that night so bad that he has to bite his inner lip until it bleeds to keep from asking.

oOo

Danzo is still the wolf at the door. His breath smells like blood as he impatiently for the Uchiha to make their first move.

But when their little sparrow lands in their compound, something changes.

The Village feels sorry for the fragile bird. And Fugaku is a slippery predator. If he can keep from going to war and destroy another clan while lifting up his own… Well, he would be a fool if he does not take the chance.

He instructs Shisui to accompany Hinata every time she ventures out in public. It was in the name of protection, but Shisui has no problem trailing his mother to the market, usually holding on to Hinata's hand.

Everything about her appearance helps. She is small and delicate looking and just a touch pretty. She is timid and hides behind Shisui's leg every time someone directs their gaze at her. When she does lift her eyes, people realize that her scars do not disfigure her face, but enhance how fragile she appears to be.

While all of these traits seem to be nothing but weakness for a future shinobi, it is the civilians who like her. The civilians are the ones who distrust the Uchiha after the Fox's attack. It is the civilians who start murmuring about the secretive Hyuga clan. What kind of people would disown such a child?

Then the same people start seeing Shisui in a different light. It is obvious he dotes on his new sister. Instead of the intimidating genius, they see him in a new light. A big brother.

When Itachi and Sasuke join them one day, the whispers get even louder. Especially when the daughter of a merchant sees Itachi carefully tuck a pretty comb in Hinata's dark hair. Perhaps he does lean in and whisper something that makes her blush. Perhaps he tells her she is pretty. Perhaps not. But the merchant's daughter is sure that Itachi, the beautiful but cold Uchiha, is thawing.

Which is promising for her romantic prospects. She tells her friend, the apprentice seamstress. The apprentice seamstress tells her sister in the shop and the wife of the baker overhears. The wife of the baker takes it to her friends over lunch. And the information flows through the civilian network of women. Before any of the shinobi realize, the women are whispering to their husbands at night about how nice the new generation of Uchiha seem.

The men, interpreting it in their own way, begin to see the Uchiha in a bit of a better light. That Fugaku might be a bastard but his son is due to inherit. And he's a genius, right? He has an excellent mission record and he's quiet. Which might be better than the brash personality his father has, anyway. Hopefully, the clan head will die soon, as most shinobi do and Itachi will keep the Military Police in line.

So they slowly forget to tell their children to stay away from the Uchiha. The first generation pre-genin feel braver about befriending their Uchiha cohorts. The other children notice and take stories home to their ninja parents about their new friends. The shinobi are baffled. To them, nothing has changed. Both the Uchiha and the Hyuga need to get those sticks out of their asses, in their not-so-humble opinion. Hinata is irrelevant by this point.

Speaking of the Hyuga, more insidious rumors thread through the village. Who are the Hyuga? They are too private and the incident with Hinata makes the civilians realize that they know next to nothing about their oldest clan. Why did they force the Uchiha to move? Why are the Hyuga crouched on the outskirts of the village like a snake ready to strike?

When these rumors reach Fugaku, he is pleased. Itachi is concerned. What will happen to Hinata when she is on her own in the Academy?

oOo

The Uchiha postpone their rebellion. Of course, there are protests and one zealot tries to assassinate a sleeping Hokage. The ANBU capture him alive but it is the Uchiha who execute him. Someone has caught wind of the council scheming against the Uchiha and the clan cannot afford to appear like traitors. Not now.

Itachi still remembers that day. His tanto is free of blood, but a small chip on the blade is a reminder of that day.

Never before has a kill made Itachi feel like he is the one who died.

A small voice in his head whispers the possibility that the traitor might not be the only family member he will have to kill.

His whole body aches. He is tired.

**oOo**

*Note: I plan to make this longer. But I do want to watch the Itachi Shinden to get a better grip on Shisui's character. Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.

Title comes from the translated of one of my all time favorite songs "Chaiyya Chaiyya." According to our dear friend Wikipedia it was composed by A.R. Rahman, written by Gulzar, and sung by Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi.


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